Adam Outland:
00:00:00
Welcome back to The Action Catalyst. Today we
Adam Outland:
00:00:02
are joined by Ron Alford, a senior partner and VP of
Adam Outland:
00:00:05
recruiting executive coach and speaker at Southwestern
Adam Outland:
00:00:09
Consulting. It's awesome to have you back on the podcast you've
Adam Outland:
00:00:13
been others before. I am excited to formally interview you
Adam Outland:
00:00:17
because you're trapped. I could ask you all the embarrassing
Adam Outland:
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things publicly that I've always wanted to.
Ron Alford:
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Thank you for having me on.
Adam Outland:
00:00:23
But in all honesty, you know, one of the
Adam Outland:
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things that I've always respected about you and how
Adam Outland:
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you've lived your life outside of business is, I guess, first
Adam Outland:
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and foremost and how you run my first experience learning about
Adam Outland:
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you. I remember who's when you talked about how you just run 35
Adam Outland:
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miles one year for every year you've been alive, because it
Adam Outland:
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was the 35th birthday. I was both amazed and thought you were
Adam Outland:
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a masochist at the same time. But then when you unpacked you
Adam Outland:
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know why you did it what it meant to you. I thought that was
Adam Outland:
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really cool. But talk about when did running start for you?
Ron Alford:
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Yeah, it's such an interesting thing, how gut
Ron Alford:
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feelings happened. I remember walking into a running store,
Ron Alford:
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you just get some shoes, not thinking much of it. My whole
Ron Alford:
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life was basketball, football, just more team sports. And I saw
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this fundraiser for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society where you can
Ron Alford:
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do a triathlon, you can go to Kona, Hawaii with a group of
Ron Alford:
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people you don't know and raise, I think I believe a six and a
Ron Alford:
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half 1000 to go to Hawaii and do this this triathlon, this
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Olympic distance triathlon. And I didn't have a bike I didn't
Ron Alford:
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y'all really run other than to score a basket or a touchdown.
Ron Alford:
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Or if and I just thought, man, it'd be neat. I was, you know,
Ron Alford:
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getting a little older and team sports were the thing anymore.
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And I remember fundraising for that and falling in love with
Ron Alford:
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the whole philanthropic side of what we were doing there. But
Ron Alford:
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then also the actual race itself and the endurance side of it,
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and just really what it took to prepare there. And so after
Ron Alford:
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doing the race, I thought, Oh, the bikie was cool. The swimming
Ron Alford:
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was cool. But man, the running art was awesome. And so that
Ron Alford:
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that started a series of like, okay, let's see what these half
Ron Alford:
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marathons and marathons and these things are like, and
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finally got into some some trail stuff where you're not as
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consumed with the watch. You can't really you know, when
Ron Alford:
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you're going up a mountain or doing technical single track,
Ron Alford:
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you can have an 18 minute downhill mile that changes
Ron Alford:
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everything. So that's that's kind of where the running part
Ron Alford:
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started, and how I've more fallen in love with the distance
Ron Alford:
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endurance side of it.
Adam Outland:
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And today, like roughly how many ultras?
Ron Alford:
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So in actual events, roughly 20 things. I've done
Ron Alford:
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more on my own. Yeah, I'd say 35, 40.
Adam Outland:
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How does running fit into your book Redefining
Adam Outland:
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Possible? Where do you feel like how the psychology of how you do
Adam Outland:
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what you do? Because for listeners that don't know, how
Adam Outland:
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long is it typical ultra?
Ron Alford:
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Anything typically 50k or above, so anything lot,
Ron Alford:
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technically longer than a marathon louder than 26.2. So 50
Ron Alford:
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ks 31 miles, but the thing about Ultra is, is they are usually in
Ron Alford:
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mountains or deep trails, or they're not your typical road
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kind of terrain. You know, obviously the book I'm sure
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we'll talk more about it. But it alludes to belief barriers that
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alludes to, to unconditional confidence, and running humbles
Ron Alford:
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any person. Like there it is, it crushes your soul. And so it's
Ron Alford:
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so good for me to get out there and just get beaten. And I don't
Ron Alford:
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know any other pretty way to say it. And you remember those
Ron Alford:
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moments where you were so depleted, your legs were shot,
Ron Alford:
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you could hardly move the cramps were in can you take some
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breaths, you take a minute, you recollect your thoughts, your
Ron Alford:
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mind receptors, and suddenly your body follows your mind. 10
Ron Alford:
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miles later, you're eating snacks, you're reinvigorated.
Ron Alford:
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You're, you keep rallying. I would say the other part of it
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is just in a world where it's, if you're in business, if you
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have, you know, multiple kids like I do, I'm in a blended
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family. You know, we're all have stress environments. And I
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welcome that I want to be in areas where I feel pressure, I
Ron Alford:
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want to be in areas where I feel stress, I think that's a healthy
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thing. If I don't let it get to me too much. And that's where
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the running really helps me. Calm, I come home from Iran. I'm
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a better listener to my kids. I'm more calm with my wife, more
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loving my wife and more patient with prospects or clients, you
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name it.
Adam Outland:
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I've noticed, I think that's a common trait. A
Adam Outland:
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lot of people found this this success is that a number of them
Adam Outland:
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not all but a number of found their ability to manage
Adam Outland:
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controllable actions on a physical level, so, Arnold
Adam Outland:
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Schwarzenegger going to the gym and knowing all the reps and see
Adam Outland:
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the results from the reps he put in, you control your body, and
Adam Outland:
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the results are an extension of that.
Ron Alford:
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Absolutely. And yeah, Schwarzenegger's story. So
Ron Alford:
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you know, he talks about how that fitness aspect helped him
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in the world of acting and becoming, you know, arguably the
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top actor of his time then in the world of politics, and so I
Ron Alford:
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can't agree more it just it blends in to every part of life
Ron Alford:
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and it doesn't matter if it's extreme weightlifting, like
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Arnold or running or whatever the person's thing is, but it's
Ron Alford:
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finding that.
Adam Outland:
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You know, in prior interviews, we focused on some
Adam Outland:
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of your kind of your earlier life and how you built into
Adam Outland:
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Southwestern consulting and the impact that you've had there,
Adam Outland:
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I'm wondering, I guess, more recently through COVID. And in
Adam Outland:
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these last few years, what are some lessons that you've taken
Adam Outland:
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back and thought about the work that you wrote and Redefining
Adam Outland:
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Possible and new applications, new inspirations that you've
Adam Outland:
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had? Just over the last three or four years?
Ron Alford:
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Man, I love the question. I think for every
Ron Alford:
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listener, for each of us, like I really am more and more
Ron Alford:
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convicted on the seasons of life. You know, it's crazy how I
Ron Alford:
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could have spoken with you six months ago on some of these
Ron Alford:
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concepts. And today be in a totally different frame of mind.
Ron Alford:
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For listeners that are familiar with the book, the the
Ron Alford:
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overriding theme is impact, and you cannot grow older, you can't
Ron Alford:
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go through things and not think about what is my legacy? What is
Ron Alford:
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significance really mean? We all know that dollars don't equal
Ron Alford:
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the joy. And yet, it's still so easy to fall into that trap of
Ron Alford:
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whether it's more money, a new title at work, a better race
Ron Alford:
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time and my running or whatever the carrot is, is going to bring
Ron Alford:
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that joy. Yeah, you and I both know, man, it just the thing
Ron Alford:
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that's really going to fill that cup is the difference I believe
Ron Alford:
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I'm making in the lives of others. I think I could have
Ron Alford:
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known that maybe a few years ago, and but I feel like I'm in
Ron Alford:
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a season now where it's like that that is it. That is the
Ron Alford:
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metal, that is the thing that we're going after. And so if I
Ron Alford:
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believe that, then what am I doing in my life? What are my
Ron Alford:
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morning routines? What are my habits? What am I who's holding
Ron Alford:
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me accountable to where I can get the best out of what I've
Ron Alford:
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been given?
Adam Outland:
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I've always seen you as a long term thinker. But
Adam Outland:
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when you said recently, there's been a reflection on legacy.
Adam Outland:
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We'll go into that a little bit more like what how have you kind
Adam Outland:
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of reset legacy for yourself? Like how have you started to
Adam Outland:
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reassess or refresh legacy and what's important to you?
Ron Alford:
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Really, it's just more top of mind. And I wasn't
Ron Alford:
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planning to go here, but they have a recurring event, every
Ron Alford:
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other Monday afternoon, Ron's call with Mark Stacy. And Mark
Ron Alford:
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is a mentor for 1000s of people and impact her as as joyful of a
Ron Alford:
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person I've ever worked with Cindy on life with, and I got to
Ron Alford:
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work closely with him. And for years, he and I had our
Ron Alford:
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recurring calls, and I got to go to Austin, Texas, to travel with
Ron Alford:
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them and be with them. And Mark passed away, gosh, little over a
Ron Alford:
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year ago to now incredibly unexpectedly, it just you can't
Ron Alford:
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go through things like that every every listener that's had
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a loved one go through a terminal condition or lost a
Ron Alford:
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loved one unexpectedly. And so for me, I actually keep that
Ron Alford:
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recurring event, it's still on my calendar. And I don't want to
Ron Alford:
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remove that because it's as much as it can kind of make me sad
Ron Alford:
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for a moment. Emotional. It also reminds me of like, if
Ron Alford:
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perspective is brought back instantly, I might be thinking,
Ron Alford:
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Oh man, I'm behind on my goals, right? I'm this or that? Or what
Ron Alford:
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was me or Gosh, our profit margin is a little off. Or it's
Ron Alford:
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like, come on, stop. And perspective comes back
Ron Alford:
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instantly. And so trying to have those kind of reminders in my
Ron Alford:
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life daily, where it's more top of mind.
Adam Outland:
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Yeah, and I think you have this ability to hold
Adam Outland:
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things loosely. Like maybe you even said this analogy years
Adam Outland:
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ago, and I probably heard it from you, but you grip sand too
Adam Outland:
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tightly in your hand it slips through your fingers. If you if
Adam Outland:
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you cradle it, it's the only way to hold that. I think that might
Adam Outland:
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have been you bid but I hear that I almost in that story
Adam Outland:
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where it almost like that early reminds you to hold sort of
Adam Outland:
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things that maybe we think are important can hold it loosely
Adam Outland:
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instead because it's not as important as that perspective.
Ron Alford:
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Yea, and just even as a parent, you hold your kids
Ron Alford:
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lives, ya know, it's hard to not squeeze, my kids are gonna get
Ron Alford:
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good grades, they're gonna be respectful, they're gonna look
Ron Alford:
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people in the eyes, and they're gonna greet people, well,
Ron Alford:
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they're gonna be little athletes and et cetera, et cetera, you
Ron Alford:
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know, good music and art. And so you use like, you know what, I'm
Ron Alford:
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going to do the best I can. I'm gonna have a ton of faith. I'm
Ron Alford:
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going to lead by example, and I'm going to hold those things
Ron Alford:
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loosely. Otherwise, I put so much pressure on my dang kids,
Ron Alford:
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they they turn into a little monster.
Adam Outland:
00:09:00
Exactly. Yeah, control you can and don't try
Adam Outland:
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and control things that you can't I love that. Another
Adam Outland:
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question would be of some of the principles that you bring up
Adam Outland:
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redefining possible What's another one, I guess, that
Adam Outland:
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you're really been focused on here over the last year or two?
Ron Alford:
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I'm really into focus because I think when
Ron Alford:
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you're juggling things, think of the wheel the spokes of the
Ron Alford:
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wheel right you know, and I've got my my spiritual goals like
Ron Alford:
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for me, my faith is this the beginning and the end, right?
Ron Alford:
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It's the center obviously, my role as a husband, my role as a
Ron Alford:
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dad, my role, my business role, you know, with internal clients,
Ron Alford:
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all of our coaches and company external clients. So you have
Ron Alford:
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all these things on your plate that I've chosen. So that's the
Ron Alford:
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ownership piece. This isn't a oh my gosh, look at this is like
Ron Alford:
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thank goodness, I made these choices. So I'm fully owning it,
Ron Alford:
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but the focus piece is big. And just even as I talk to you,
Ron Alford:
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looking down making sure my phone is upside down, there's no
Ron Alford:
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lighting there's no notifications of y'all my
Ron Alford:
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computer screen man, no way would it would there be a
Ron Alford:
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notification pop up that would somehow Take a little bit of my
Ron Alford:
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momentum or my inertia or my focus away from our
Ron Alford:
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conversation, just the blinders are more and more and more
Ron Alford:
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fascinated with that concept. And I love studying it with
Ron Alford:
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people, learning from people that just no matter how much
Ron Alford:
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they have on their plate, whenever I'm with them, they
Ron Alford:
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really seem present and engaged. I would say one last part of
Ron Alford:
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that is because, again, to my three kids, my twin boys are
Ron Alford:
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literally just about to start getting their driver's licenses.
Ron Alford:
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And so it's like, Man, I don't have a ton of time with my kids
Ron Alford:
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at home. I want to have focused time with these kids. You know,
Ron Alford:
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I want to make sure the time I have with my wife counts, I want
Ron Alford:
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to make sure the time I have in my co workers get Yeah, you get
Adam Outland:
00:10:37
Yeah, absolutely. Speaking of focus, writing a
Adam Outland:
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it.
Adam Outland:
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book takes a lot of focus. I mean, to get your ideas on
Adam Outland:
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paper, and not even second guess yourself. It's really difficult.
Adam Outland:
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It's me, there's a couple questions around just writing
Adam Outland:
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and putting these ideas on paper. What was the best way for
Adam Outland:
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you to focus on writing that book?
Ron Alford:
00:11:00
Yeah, I look back now. So I would say three,
Ron Alford:
00:11:03
there's kind of three phases. The first was just a loose over
Ron Alford:
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a couple years loosely, having a having notes of Ron's rambles I
Ron Alford:
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call them and it was just little little rambles, little thoughts,
Ron Alford:
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little things I wanted to study, I had no idea what I wanted to
Ron Alford:
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do with them. Maybe it'd be a blog, or a video or part of some
Ron Alford:
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different keynote speaking things or a book. But that was
Ron Alford:
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just a number of years of just kind of collecting thoughts and
Ron Alford:
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pondering and just almost journaling and writing and
Ron Alford:
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processing it. That was absolutely the first part. The
Ron Alford:
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second was getting myself in a room and kind of organizing the
Ron Alford:
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thoughts into something that made sense. Like, if I'm
Ron Alford:
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beginning with the end in mind, what is the finished product
Ron Alford:
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look like? What do you want readers to take away? If no one
Ron Alford:
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read it, except my three kids? And maybe their spouses someday?
Ron Alford:
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Would they be proud of their dad, if this is like my journal,
Ron Alford:
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and are some sort of a way to process part of my life and part
Ron Alford:
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of the things I believe deeply in, essentially, what I'm
Ron Alford:
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devoting my professional life, but even a lot of my personal
Ron Alford:
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life, too, if I can get this organized on paper, will my kids
Ron Alford:
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be proud of it? That was the second part that was there was
Ron Alford:
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more of an intense focus of getting it all arranged. The
Ron Alford:
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third part was evenings, where I had help and had a bit of a team
Ron Alford:
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that would you know, from six to 8pm, and thankfully, my wife was
Ron Alford:
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awesome. She said, Hey, you have total permission to take that
Ron Alford:
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time at night, and just you know, so it was two to three
Ron Alford:
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hour segments at night, where I would grab a bite of dinner with
Ron Alford:
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my family, and then by six or 615 be back in my office. And it
Ron Alford:
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was just book work time from like, maybe six to eight 830.
Ron Alford:
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And then they'll kind of relax a little bit with my my wife and
Ron Alford:
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family before bedtime. So just more spurts two to three hours a
Ron Alford:
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couple of nights a week.
Adam Outland:
00:12:42
I always get in a place where I question whether
Adam Outland:
00:12:46
I'll still think what I'm putting down as important. Five
Adam Outland:
00:12:49
or 10 years later. You now have this perspective. I guess coming
Adam Outland:
00:12:54
back and adding some highlights to the book when you wrote it, I
Adam Outland:
00:12:57
guess how did you know that this was gonna be something that you
Adam Outland:
00:13:00
read again five years later and go yes, I still believe these
Adam Outland:
00:13:03
things are still important to me.
Ron Alford:
00:13:06
I think just anything that is principles like
Ron Alford:
00:13:08
to me trends come and go right fads come and go 30 Day diets
Ron Alford:
00:13:13
and clothing styles, I have a lot of old pictures of clothes
Ron Alford:
00:13:16
that shirt or not in style, right? But But principles are
Ron Alford:
00:13:19
just there. They've been there the rock, I really believe the
Ron Alford:
00:13:22
character traits that I want to be known for the character
Ron Alford:
00:13:25
traits that I wanted this book to be about, and the principles
Ron Alford:
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I want it to be centered on. And really the principles that
Ron Alford:
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represent Southwestern, this isn't my book, I worked hard to
Ron Alford:
00:13:33
put a lot into it. But this is stuff that thankfully,
Ron Alford:
00:13:35
southwestern has given me over 30 years. And so that was really
Ron Alford:
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important as well as that making sure anything we really dove
Ron Alford:
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into was things that were going to last things like vision right
Ron Alford:
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having a purpose for one's life is not a come and go topic. It
Ron Alford:
00:13:51
has been since the beginning of time and will always be right
Ron Alford:
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things like belief systems, and really rewiring thoughts and
Ron Alford:
00:13:59
being hyper aware of the thoughts running through my head
Ron Alford:
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and how do I reframe beliefs and not let my story go into a
Ron Alford:
00:14:06
negative way? Those are principles that are going to be
Ron Alford:
00:14:09
truths, right I call them truth versus lies. I unfortunately,
Ron Alford:
00:14:13
like any human pick up on a lie frequently in my mind starts
Ron Alford:
00:14:16
doubting and fill in blame and fill and worry and anxiety and
Ron Alford:
00:14:22
but these are truths that bring my mind back to center. I love
Ron Alford:
00:14:26
that. Yeah. And then we just wanted a fun mix of some
Ron Alford:
00:14:29
personal stories, of course and examples and but then a lot of
Ron Alford:
00:14:32
his history, right, we learned from history. So a lot of
Ron Alford:
00:14:34
historical whether it's data and studies and actual case studies,
Ron Alford:
00:14:39
but But history that kind of backs up a lot of these
Ron Alford:
00:14:41
principles of how important they are to our lives.
Adam Outland:
00:14:44
100% Yeah, I love that. You know, there are a lot
Adam Outland:
00:14:47
of listeners that probably haven't had a chance to pick up
Adam Outland:
00:14:49
the book yet. I know you said you wrote it with even your own
Adam Outland:
00:14:53
kids in mind like would they be proud of you, but in the world
Adam Outland:
00:14:55
of business and the people that are listening in here, who did
Adam Outland:
00:14:59
you write This book for like, who are the people that are
Adam Outland:
00:15:01
going to pick this up, read it and go, gosh, that's exactly
Adam Outland:
00:15:04
what I need it?
Ron Alford:
00:15:05
Well, clients were top of mind through a lot of
Ron Alford:
00:15:08
this. And a lot of them are in sales, a lot of them are in
Ron Alford:
00:15:11
leadership. They lead small teams, some of lead small teams,
Ron Alford:
00:15:15
some of the lead companies, but at the end of the day, they're
Ron Alford:
00:15:17
people that that struggle with time, how do I how do I plan my
Ron Alford:
00:15:21
time more effectively? How do I manage my time more effectively?
Ron Alford:
00:15:24
How do I have boundaries and there are people that struggle
Ron Alford:
00:15:26
with the emotional side of being people pleasers or being control
Ron Alford:
00:15:30
freaks. So definitely the the clients internally and
Ron Alford:
00:15:33
externally. So I mentioned that earlier is you know, for us, we
Ron Alford:
00:15:35
hire coaches, they have this tremendous background, just as
Ron Alford:
00:15:38
you've got a brilliant resume and all these accolades and all
Ron Alford:
00:15:41
these certifications doesn't mean you don't get humbled
Ron Alford:
00:15:44
daily, put it that way. So I wanted this to be something that
Ron Alford:
00:15:47
are tools for our coaches that we can help coach on, but
Ron Alford:
00:15:51
obviously for our clients and, and again, stuff that people can
Ron Alford:
00:15:54
use not just in the boardroom, but things they could use when
Ron Alford:
00:15:57
they go home with their own children, or when they have
Ron Alford:
00:15:59
their own routines or their own quiet time where they're
Ron Alford:
00:16:01
wrestling with their thoughts. So that that was who it was
Ron Alford:
00:16:03
written for.
Adam Outland:
00:16:04
You know, I think you you really do exemplify what
Adam Outland:
00:16:08
you write about there not many people who are able to show up
Adam Outland:
00:16:13
at home and at work and live out things as much as you do. And
Adam Outland:
00:16:17
you've done a really good job being a living example. Just for
Adam Outland:
00:16:21
our back end of time. I wanted to do a little lightning round
Adam Outland:
00:16:24
of questions for you. It's kind of a fun question. I asked a lot
Adam Outland:
00:16:27
of folks we interview who is a person you always wanted to
Adam Outland:
00:16:31
meet, but never have?
Ron Alford:
00:16:35
It's funny I go to Troy Polamalu first, if
Ron Alford:
00:16:38
listeners know who that is that Google him whatever you know, as
Ron Alford:
00:16:42
a long, long, long time 45 year Pittsburgh Steeler fan, that's
Ron Alford:
00:16:46
one part of it. But way aside from that, he was the kite he is
Ron Alford:
00:16:50
for everything I've read, but the kindest, gentlest, calmest,
Ron Alford:
00:16:55
he would literally pray before every play, and yet he was
Ron Alford:
00:16:59
ferocious. Like if you go to go on YouTube and watch him, he was
Ron Alford:
00:17:02
just wreck. I mean, he was Raizy on the field and pro bowl after
Ron Alford:
00:17:07
Pro Bowl, all the all defense MVP, etc. So just crazy in the
Ron Alford:
00:17:11
field, but yet he had a way of calming himself down and the way
Ron Alford:
00:17:14
he treated people with so unconditional, I was read about
Ron Alford:
00:17:17
things he and his wife have done to impact people. And it just it
Ron Alford:
00:17:21
a ton of admiration for for Troy.
Adam Outland:
00:17:24
That's a really good one. Good balance of
Adam Outland:
00:17:26
humility and in prayer with aggression, that's appropriate.
Ron Alford:
00:17:30
Exactly.
Adam Outland:
00:17:31
What's something that significant, I guess, that
Adam Outland:
00:17:35
you've actually changed your mind about recently that you've
Adam Outland:
00:17:39
had a change of mind about?
Ron Alford:
00:17:41
I think, I think just right and wrong, it's hard
Ron Alford:
00:17:43
to be around politics or just divisive things. And I'm more
Ron Alford:
00:17:47
and more and I don't know if I like this about myself, but I'm
Ron Alford:
00:17:50
more and more becoming one of my co workers. He calls me
Ron Alford:
00:17:53
Switzerland sometimes, because we'll take aside at times. Now,
Ron Alford:
00:17:57
obviously, there's certain things that convictions are
Ron Alford:
00:17:59
like, come on, I have absolute principles and convictions I'll
Ron Alford:
00:18:02
die for, I'm gonna I'm gonna dig in on certain things. And a lot
Ron Alford:
00:18:05
of it I'm not, I'm not going to stick my flag on that I'm not
Ron Alford:
00:18:09
going to act like that's, I just think ego does these crazy
Ron Alford:
00:18:13
things to us humans where we think we have to be right, which
Ron Alford:
00:18:16
means they have to be wrong. Someone just as wise across the
Ron Alford:
00:18:20
aisle is saying the same thing about you. And so just more and
Ron Alford:
00:18:23
more and more, whatever the topic might be disbelieving
Ron Alford:
00:18:26
there can be some truth in both sides. How can we listen? And so
Ron Alford:
00:18:30
it's just more and more not being quick to judge quick to
Ron Alford:
00:18:33
speak but slower to ask questions and try to seek to
Ron Alford:
00:18:36
understand I don't know if it's a new principle, but it's
Ron Alford:
00:18:38
something I'm I have a higher conviction of lately than I did
Ron Alford:
00:18:41
years ago.
Adam Outland:
00:18:42
So you embrace the moniker Switzerland?
Ron Alford:
00:18:44
I do exactly. While other countries are going to
Ron Alford:
00:18:48
war. We're just like, hey, life's good. Like more wine more
Ron Alford:
00:18:51
cheese, more calm. Switzerland is happy.
Adam Outland:
00:18:55
What's the best piece of advice that you
Adam Outland:
00:18:59
ignored? Intentionally? Like when you're glad you did the one
Adam Outland:
00:19:02
piece of advice that maybe you've received that you didn't
Adam Outland:
00:19:05
take?
Ron Alford:
00:19:06
I think having to have data pros and cons always
Ron Alford:
00:19:10
have to be aligned, like logic is gonna win, always. And just
Ron Alford:
00:19:14
sometimes there is a gut, there's an art to as a big
Ron Alford:
00:19:17
baseball fan. You know, you can see that the analytical data
Ron Alford:
00:19:20
studies, where there's a lot of GMs that have baseball teams
Ron Alford:
00:19:24
that eyeball stuff. Yep, exactly. And so that's one thing
Ron Alford:
00:19:27
where I believe it out love data. I love trends. I love
Ron Alford:
00:19:30
studying analytics. And I believe there's absolutely a
Ron Alford:
00:19:33
world of logic. And there's times where it's like, you know
Ron Alford:
00:19:37
what, I'm going to trust my heart. Like there's something
Ron Alford:
00:19:39
there that is true and pure. And I don't want to always be a
Ron Alford:
00:19:42
slave to what the data says.
Adam Outland:
00:19:45
Really true. The pendulum swing sometimes like in
Adam Outland:
00:19:47
the tech sector at swing that swings all the way over to data
Adam Outland:
00:19:51
driven decision making, but you could dig your grave with the
Adam Outland:
00:19:55
amount of data there is to sift through and analyze and in data
Adam Outland:
00:19:58
at the same time ends up as being numbers we know that tells
Adam Outland:
00:20:02
a good portion of the story, but you can wrongly interpret data
Adam Outland:
00:20:06
and unpack it incorrectly.
Ron Alford:
00:20:08
There is an art. I think it's the art and the
Ron Alford:
00:20:10
science. Both are great things. And again, maybe that's the
Ron Alford:
00:20:14
Switzerland in me. But art or science, it's both.
Adam Outland:
00:20:19
What's your current morning routine?
Ron Alford:
00:20:22
So you know, bathroom routine, come out, 30
Ron Alford:
00:20:25
seconds with my dog, I literally get on the steps and just
Ron Alford:
00:20:27
literally hug my dog and like lay with them and just kind of,
Ron Alford:
00:20:31
and then come down, feed the animals. And I come into my
Ron Alford:
00:20:34
office as then I lay on my office floor at about a 15
Ron Alford:
00:20:37
minute stretchy routine that just helps you know, some back
Ron Alford:
00:20:40
situations and some stuff with my dog. So it's quiet time with
Ron Alford:
00:20:44
my coach where I'm stretching and relaxing. And he does his
Ron Alford:
00:20:46
downward dog and his stretching. And then depending on the day,
Ron Alford:
00:20:50
he either gets a quick walk and I go to the gym, or I take a we
Ron Alford:
00:20:53
grab the leash, which of course he goes crazy for meaning we get
Ron Alford:
00:20:56
to go for a run and the trails that's absolutely morning
Ron Alford:
00:20:59
routine that it's back. By that time, my daughter's up and my
Ron Alford:
00:21:01
wife's up and the kids are up and whatnot and get to see the
Ron Alford:
00:21:04
family and then kind of get ready and ready for the day.
Ron Alford:
00:21:08
Nothing crazy.
Adam Outland:
00:21:09
Nope, that's perfect. And stretching, I think
Adam Outland:
00:21:12
is a big thing that I'm missing.
Ron Alford:
00:21:14
Yes. And I'll just quickly add to it the physical
Ron Alford:
00:21:16
side of course, but it's it's way deeper, I believe that
Ron Alford:
00:21:20
spiritual, the emotional, the physical, the mental, all four
Ron Alford:
00:21:24
components, that helps me with my my shoulders drop. And even
Ron Alford:
00:21:28
in the middle of the day, when when anxiety or stress starts to
Ron Alford:
00:21:31
add up having a quick routine, you know, maybe just after
Ron Alford:
00:21:34
lunch, or the two o'clock, 10 minute break, or something where
Ron Alford:
00:21:37
I can go out and kind of re stretch in a way maybe not the
Ron Alford:
00:21:41
same as I did in the morning, my breathing changes the tone of
Ron Alford:
00:21:45
voice, the calmness, like I said, the posture that, you
Ron Alford:
00:21:48
know, I can have neck issues or whatever. And so I think it
Ron Alford:
00:21:51
really does get your art, right. So it's because I've stretched
Ron Alford:
00:21:55
where my mind is in 18 different places, and I'm scrolling apps
Ron Alford:
00:21:59
and I'm my mental side is not there. And it's not nearly as
Ron Alford:
00:22:01
effective. But when I stretch with breathing, and with
Ron Alford:
00:22:04
calmness and with no distractions and just being
Ron Alford:
00:22:07
there with my dog, there's something more there's a deeper
Ron Alford:
00:22:10
level of health that comes from it.
Adam Outland:
00:22:12
Have you ever hired like a trainer or a coach
Adam Outland:
00:22:15
of some kind, like business or physical related to like prepare
Adam Outland:
00:22:19
for something?
Ron Alford:
00:22:20
Yes, not as much as I'd like to say I have. So I've
Ron Alford:
00:22:23
hired some trainers to help with, like, even physical
Ron Alford:
00:22:26
therapists, for example, definitely, I've hired physical
Ron Alford:
00:22:28
therapists not reactionary because I've got an injury but
Ron Alford:
00:22:31
more proactively to help me with preventative things from my back
Ron Alford:
00:22:34
or my hips or my knees or, you know, as I get older, and
Ron Alford:
00:22:37
you're, if I'm training for 100 mile race this August, and I'm
Ron Alford:
00:22:40
gonna spend a lot of time how do i proactively prevent injury
Ron Alford:
00:22:44
versus reactively? Do it. So I've done a lot of that kind of
Ron Alford:
00:22:47
thing for sure.
Adam Outland:
00:22:48
That's awesome. Probably a good analogy for
Adam Outland:
00:22:50
business coaching, too, is that so many people gravitate towards
Adam Outland:
00:22:55
coaching or help when it's already, not necessarily too
Adam Outland:
00:22:58
late. But the problems already become so painful, that they're
Adam Outland:
00:23:02
scrambling for a need, there's probably a lot of value to
Adam Outland:
00:23:05
preventative maintenance in every area of your life. Right?
Adam Outland:
00:23:08
Do you really want you know, marital counseling, when it's
Adam Outland:
00:23:11
really, really needed? Or do you want to get ahead of that,
Adam Outland:
00:23:13
right? I mean, there's lots of examples.
Ron Alford:
00:23:15
And in all seriousness, like I cannot agree
Ron Alford:
00:23:18
more, and it's painful to think of all the times I've made the
Ron Alford:
00:23:21
mistake of the opposite. Let me not act in any way. Like I've
Ron Alford:
00:23:23
been some proactive person my whole life. No way, messed it up
Ron Alford:
00:23:27
so much. But now it's like, I won't be able to do that
Ron Alford:
00:23:29
training. But I also still want to play basketball with my boys
Ron Alford:
00:23:32
every weekend. I want to be able to run with my daughter and do
Ron Alford:
00:23:34
things and keep up with them. And it's getting tougher, y'all
Ron Alford:
00:23:37
but it's like, I still can rock one on one with my twins. And
Ron Alford:
00:23:40
it's like, I wanna be able to do that and not you know, when they
Ron Alford:
00:23:42
have their kids, I want to go play with my grandkids some day.
Ron Alford:
00:23:45
So there's some deep emotional Of course, that's back to the
Ron Alford:
00:23:47
vision board type stuff. deep emotional purpose behind this,
Ron Alford:
00:23:51
that has sparked the action in hiring the PT on the on the
Ron Alford:
00:23:54
front end.
Adam Outland:
00:23:55
Yeah, it's really cool. This has been a really
Adam Outland:
00:23:58
insightful and energizing interview just spent a lot of
Adam Outland:
00:24:02
really great anecdotes and stories, things that I hadn't
Adam Outland:
00:24:05
heard before. And I think our listeners are gonna love hearing
Adam Outland:
00:24:08
this reading your book and and so on that last point. Where can
Adam Outland:
00:24:12
people find Redefining Possible?
Ron Alford:
00:24:15
So of course Amazon any any book selling places
Ron Alford:
00:24:18
there are southwest your websites so
Ron Alford:
00:24:20
SouthwesternConsulting.com or my own, RonAlfordSWC.com. Any of
Ron Alford:
00:24:25
those are good. Yeah. Even on my Instagram or LinkedIn or those
Ron Alford:
00:24:28
places that it has links for it.
Adam Outland:
00:24:30
Coaching, training, speaking, Ron does it
Adam Outland:
00:24:33
all here you can find more info on all those same places for
Adam Outland:
00:24:36
that as well. Right?
Ron Alford:
00:24:37
Correct. It's fun to learn with and that's why I
Ron Alford:
00:24:39
love being a part of this as we get to talk through stuff.
Ron Alford:
00:24:41
That's okay. I've got more focus and energy for my days. So
Ron Alford:
00:24:45
thanks for having me on talking about all this.
Adam Outland:
00:24:47
Yeah, you got it Ron, appreciate the time.